U.S. Insurance Regulation and Supervision – Practical Training for ASSAL Members Overview of U.S. Insurance Regulation and Supervision

Ekrem M. Sarper International Policy Advisor NAIC

Introduction  Insurance  Basic  Role

Department Overview

Functions Of Insurance Regulation

Of The NAIC

 Summary

Information On U.S. Industry

 Interaction

Legislators

Between Regulators And

Insurance Supervision  State 

Regulation of Insurance

McCarran-Ferguson Act (1945) – “business of insurance” regulated by the states  Department

of Insurance

 Commissioner

/ Superintendent / Director

 Mostly Appointed by Governor  Elected – 12 states  Appointed by Legislature - 1

Insurance Supervision  Department   

of Insurance

Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners Licensing – Agent/Broker Products Regulation  Forms  Rates

 Insurer

Financial Regulation:

 Licensing

& Admissions  Financial Analysis & Examination  Market

Conduct/Consumer Affairs

 Legal  Consumer  Others

Education

Prototype Organization

Commissioner

Deputy

Deputy

Financial Analysis

Financial Examination

Company Licensing

Rates/Forms

Consumer Services

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Agent Licensing

Insurance Supervision  Insurance   

Total budgets 2010: $1.79 B Total budgets 2009: $1.60 B 11,590 full time employees

 Funding  

 

Department Data

Sources

Applications, Filing Fees & Assessments Fines & Penalties General Funds Premium Taxes

Overview of U.S. Regulation Insurance Regulators Protect Policyholders through: Solvency Surveillance (financial regulation) Ensure Appropriate & Equitable Rates (Products) Complex & Technical Nature Of Insurance Contracts (Consumer Services, products, transaction approval) Protect Consumers Against Fraud & Unethical Market Behavior (Market Conduct, Agents, Criminal Investigation) Foster Efficient Insurance Markets (Market Development) Restrict Ability Of Insurers To Withdraw From Certain Markets (Market Development)

To Enforce Insurance Laws Ensure Laws Are Followed & Implemented Correctly

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Overview of U.S. Regulation

To Keep the Public Informed Consumer Protection  Insure U Campaign

To Preserve Open, Competitive Markets Prevent Under-priced Products To Gain Market Share Ensure That Premium Levels Are Adequate To Maintain Insurer Solvency Continuously Monitor Insurers’ Financial Condition Ensure That Insurers Are Financially Able To Pay Claims

8

Overview of U.S. Regulation

Regulation of Direct Insurers & Reinsurers •Direct Insurance • Subject to Regulation by State(s) in Which the Insurer Is Admitted (Authorized/licensed) Carrier. • Regulation Applies to All Lines of Business (e.g., Life, Health, Property & Casualty, Auto, Professional Liability, Workers Compensation). • Regulatory Oversight of Rates, Financial Conditions, Accounting Standards, Market Conduct.

Reinsurance • Regulation for Reinsurers More Focused on Solvency and Credit Issues

9

Role of the NAIC  National

(NAIC)  56  



Association of Insurance Commissioners

jurisdictions

50 states Washington, DC 5 U.S. “territories”

 Executive

Office – Washington, DC  Central Office – Kansas City, Missouri  Capital Markets & Investment Analysis Office – New York, NY

Role of the NAIC

 Triannual

Meetings of Members

 Annual

Commissioner’s Retreat

 Interim

Meetings

 Committees,

Forces

Working Groups, Task

NAIC Committee Structure

Plenary Executive (EX1) Subcommittee – Internal Administration Information Systems Task Force (A) Committee – Life Insurance & Annuities (B) Committee – Health Insurance and Managed Care (C) Committee – Property & Casualty Insurance (D) Committee – Market Regulation and Consumer Affairs (E) Committee – Financial Condition

(F) Committee – Financial Regulation Standards and Accreditation

SVO Initiatives Working Group AIG Managing Task Force Information Systems Task Force Climate Change and Global Warming Task Force Government Relations Leadership Council International Insurance Relations Leadership Group Long-Term Care Task Force Producer Licensing Task Force Solvency Modernization Initiative Task Force Speed to Market Task Force Market Regulation Accreditation Task Force Multi-state Enforcement Task Force Regulatory Modernization Task Force

(G) Committee – International Insurance Relations NAIC/Industry Liaison Committee NAIC/Consumer Liaison Committee NAIC/State Government Liaison Committee

What the NAIC Does for States

Specifically… • Array of Informational Tools, Resources and Products • Insurance Company Financial Data, Market Conduct Data, Securities Valuation Data, Model Laws and Industry Publications • Legal Support • Research Support • Education

• Opportunities for Regulators to Come Together

13

Illustration of NAIC 2010 Activities    

    

    

        

3 National Meetings with 5,099 Total Attendees 61 NAIC Interim Meetings 2,387 Conference Calls (Member Toll-Free Access) 18 Funded Consumer Representatives 732 Million Total Media Impressions (TV, Radio PSAs, Consumer Alerts) 1,100+ Fulfilled Media Requests 6.5 Million Visits to NAIC Website (www.naic.org) 354,932 Visits to Insure U Website (www.insureUonline.org) 6.4 Million Visits to NAIC’s Regulator-Only I-SITE Website 565,475 Insurance Product Submissions to The System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing (SERFF) 37,013 Online Fraud Referrals to Members 4,721 Annual and Quarterly Financial Statements 193 NAIC Publications and Data Products 400 Million Data Elements in Financial Data Repository 4,868 Uniform Certificate of Authority Applications Transmitted to Members 209 Classroom or Online Education Courses 136,170 Fulfilled NAIC Help Desk Inquiries (Phone/E-mail) 13,650 Fulfilled Statutory Accounting & Financial Reporting Inquiries 2,178 Fulfilled Research Library Inquiries 9 Full Accreditation Reviews 8 Pre-Accreditation Reviews 42 Interim Accreditation Reviews

Ongoing Core Services

Model Laws

• Developed to Establish Standards • Can Be Adopted ‘As Is’ or Modified Slightly to Meet State Specific Needs

• Helps Consumers • Keeps Company Costs Down • New Plan for Consistent Review and Update

• Many Model Laws Become Nationwide Standards: • Accreditation Standards

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Ongoing Core Initiatives

Solvency and Accreditation • NAIC’s Financial Regulation & Accounting Division Provides Financial Regulation and Solvency Surveillance Support to States - Monitoring Approx. 1,300 Largest Insurers • 1989 Policy Statement - Financial Regulation Standards

• 1990 – Formal Certification Program – Accreditation •Annual Evaluation and Re-certification at 5 Year Intervals • Standards Are Flexible in Order to Adapt to Changing Market Needs • As of June 2009 – all 50 States Certified/Accredited

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Ongoing Core Initiatives

NAIC Publications • Currently, the NAIC Publishes Over 150 Insurance Related Products for use by Regulators, Insurers and Consumers • Top Sellers • Medicare Supplement Guides and Long-term Care Guides • Annual Statement Instructions and Annual Statement Blanks • Accounting Practices and Procedures • Valuation of Securities CD • Model Laws • Listing of Companies • Retaliation Guide

NAIC Education

• 81 Education Programs – Regulators and Public 17

Ongoing Core Initiatives

NAIC Research and Statistics •Actuarial Expertise (Life, Health and P&C) •Rate and Form Expertise •Economic Studies

•Regulatory Policy Analysis •Statistical Reports

•Market Analysis •Assist in monitoring states’ progress toward NAIC goals

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U.S. Insurance Market  Total

insurers in the U.S. – 7,869

 Property/casualty

– 2,737  Life/health/accident – 1,106  Others: HMO, Blue Cross/Shield, Fraternal  Gross

insurance premium (USD) $1.787 Tr.  Property/casualty

- $456B  Life/health/accident - $1.2 Tr 

Source: 2009 Insurance Dept. Resources Report

U.S. Insurance Market  Largest

volume  State

states – annual premium

2009  California: $221B  New York: $152B  Florida: $106B  Texas: $98B  Pennsylvania: $81B  Vermont: $77B 

2008 $220B $151B $105B $99B $81B $2B

Source: 2009 Insurance Dept. Resources Report

Global Insurance Market

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Jurisdiction

Premium Volume*

Market Share

United States Japan United Kingdom France Germany CALIFORNIA Italy PR China NEW YORK Netherlands FLORIDA TEXAS Canada South Korea Spain PENNSYLVANIA India Taiwan Australia ILLINOIS OHIO

$1,548,934 $505,956 $309,241 $283,070 $238,366 $209,304 $169,360 $163,047 $124,802 $108,144 $101,895 $ 99,396 $ 98,840 $ 91,963 $ 82,775 $ 80,683 $ 65,085 $ 63,647 $ 60,317 $ 59,369 $ 56,045

34.61% 11.31% 6.91% 6.33% 5.33% 4.68% 3.78% 3.64% 2.79% 2.42% 2.28% 2.22% 2.21% 2.05% 1.85% 1.80% 1.45% 1.42% 1.35% 1.33% 1.25%

* US $ million 2009 DPW

U.S. Insurance Market

“Producers” Total

= agents, brokers

licensed agents, brokers

 6,032,018

Licensed Individuals

 2,124,924

Resident  3,907,094 Non-resident  483,763

Licensed Business Entities

 Source:

Report

2009 Insurance Dept. Resources

Interaction between Regulators and Legislators

 State    

House Senate NCSL (National Conference of State Legislators) NCOIL (National Conference of Insurance Legislators)

 State  

Legislature

Department of Insurance

Legislative Proposals, Consultation – Model Laws Authority to “Regulate” / Implement Laws

Hot Topics in the U.S.

U.S. Financial Regulatory Reform

 On

July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (DFA).

 The

Bill is over 2300 pages long and consists of 17 Titles.

 Much

of it relates to issues that are unrelated to insurance; however, the new law does establish a new federal role regarding insurance in a number of critical respects.

Resolve Companies that are “Too Big to Fail”

1.

Develop the standards for designating “systemically important financial institutions”

2.

Monitor the market & promote market discipline – eliminate expectations of bailouts

3.

Respond to emerging threats

Resolve Companies that are “Too Big to Fail” 

Title I: Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC)



Financial Stability Oversight Council to identify risks to U.S. financial stability from the ongoing activities, material distress or failure of large interconnected financial companies, including insurance companies.



10 voting members (Treasury, Fed, Comptroller of the Currency, CFPB, SEC, FDIC, CFTC, FHFA, NCUA, member with “insurance expertise” (TBD)



5 non-voting members • Director of the Office of Financial Research (TBD) • Director of the Federal Insurance Office (Former IL Director Mike McRaith since June) • State insurance commissioner (MO Director John Huff) • State banking supervisor • State securities commissioner

Overview of FSOC Activities

 The

Council has met 5 times on October 1, November 23, January 18, March 17 and May 24.

 It

has focused on three main areas that could have an impact on insurers:  Designations

of Non-Bank Financial Companies for supervision by the Fed

 Conducting

a study and making recommendations on implementing the Volcker Rule

 Conducting

a study and making Recommendation of implementing concentration limits on large financial firms

Our Message: One Size Does Not Fit All

 Insurance

is a unique product

 Traditional

insurance activities did not cause the financial crisis

 Insurance

regulators already have welldeveloped systems for rehabilitating and/or unwinding troubled insurance companies

Liquidation of Unstable Companies

SIFIs are referred to the Federal Reserve, which shall impose “heightened prudential standards” If a SIFI becomes unstable: If an INSURANCE SIFI becomes unstable: Affirmative vote from 2/3 Fed Board of Governors & from 2/3 of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Liquidation under FDIC authority

Affirmative vote from 2/3 Fed Board of Governors & from the FIO Director Liquidation under state authority UNLESS state fails to act within 60 days – then FDIC steps in Difficult to imagine a scenario where the FDIC might become involved – ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL!

Shed Light on “Off the Books” Activities

 The

Volcker Rule

 New

restrictions on SIFIs engaging in proprietary trading  Vague exception for insurance companies  Rule coming in October 2011

 Derivatives 





SEC & CFTC working on rules Insurance use of derivatives: primarily to hedge against risk We are monitoring the development of new systems to track derivative transactions

Federal Insurance Office (Title V, Subtitle A)



Establishes a Federal Insurance Office (FIO), housed in the Treasury Department



Help the federal government gain a better understanding of the insurance market and negotiate international agreements 

Does not give Treasury general supervisory or regulatory authority over the business of insurance.



No jurisdiction over solvency or capital

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Federal Insurance Office: Covered Agreements

 The

Treasury department and the USTR have authority to enter into “covered agreements” international agreements that preempt state law if they are:

1) entered into between the U.S. and a foreign government, authority, or regulatory entity, and 2) relate to the recognition of prudential measures to the business of insurance or reinsurance that achieves a level of protection of insurance or reinsurance consumers that is substantially equivalent to the protection achieved under state law.

Federal Insurance Office: Covered Agreements



Preemption shall not include: 

any State insurance measure that governs any insurer’s rates, premiums, underwriting, or sales practices;



any State coverage requirements for insurance;



application of the antitrust laws of any State to the business of insurance;



or any State insurance measure governing the capital or solvency of an insurer, except to the extent that such State insurance measure results in less favorable treatment of a non-United State insurer than a United States insurer;

Questions? Ekrem Sarper International Policy Advisor

[email protected] 202 471 3976